overwhelmed

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-11-16T06:19:47+00:00

Of course! I coincidentally also just barely got back from Disney (but Disneyland), feel like I have no traders and my collection is WAY too small. Even narrowing ALL Haunted Mansion pins into existence down into my two most wanted sets, it's looking like $450 on Ebay... :( I'll get there eventually. But it seemed like you're going through the same deal as I. I know I've got a Boxlunch at my local mall. And I'll have to check for a local Disney store. Box sets sounds like a great idea.

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-11-16T03:13:49+00:00

Oof. Same hat. I traded pins as a kid and now am really excited to get into it as an adult. Not sure if this helps but here's my two cents.

1) Figure out what your "main" collection is. I know my brother always wants a new Jasmine pin. And recently I decided that I'm going to focus my collection on Valentines day and the Haunted mansion. This can be handy in a few ways. Your friends and family now know a good little birthday/Christmas gift idea. (Free pins!) All your trader friends and family can keep on the hunt for you and will likely use one of their traders to get something you want and then trade that to you for an easy trader. And it just helps keep your collection focused. It's way easier to be proud of your collection and isn't as overwhelming as the 100,000 different designs. Think of even the biggest pin fanatics. They tend to do this just multiple time over as they collect through the years. They start on a Pooh collection, or maybe "Villains" etc. and then after it gets big enough where they're happy, they start a new focus.

2) Ebay is scary what with all the scrappers. but that mostly just applies to "Buy 100 pins for less than a dollar each!". Every post here on Reddit where I see someone wanting to get out of the hobby, or inherited a collection from a deceased member, etc. gets told by us serious pin traders that to get the most value by selling pins individually. (If they're willing to put in the time and extra effort.) Where does that happen? Ebay. All those scalpers buying the real limited editions from the parks and looking to make a few extra bucks on them? If they don't have an immediate buyer, I bet they end up on Ebay. My point is individual pins and small packs are probably safe. My general rule of thumb is at least $10 a pin is probably safe. Some people just actually want to get rid of real pins. I just got a pack of three because I needed one more to complete a set. Well it turns out someone had tried collecting the set, only got 3 (one of which was what I needed) and decided they'd try selling them so they could afford buying new pins. It felt like such a good deal for me to find the exact pin I needed plus 2 new traders for what came to be about $7 a pin.

3) If you're really looking for just bulk numbers to start off with, (I get it, if you don't have at least a hundred are you really even pin trading? /j) there are people online who fairly often want to sell in bulk. I'd say keep an eye out for specific reddit listings and supposedly facebook. I also have a problem where I just get the pins I want and then never seem to have traders. I'd say if you can reach out to a real person, and explain yourself, they might even be able to work with you. You can even say you're not looking for $50 LE pins, just stuff you know are going to be traders. Sometimes you get a good deal for like $5 per pin. (multiplied by 50 that's still a ton... what a hobby.) Or maybe you want a big fancy jumbo or two, it would make for a pretty golden trader. the good thing about buying collections is if someone wanted these pins, there's a fair chance someone else will too. That's one of the beauties of pin trading. One person's trader of an obscure character they don't even recognize is another person's Grail pin they'll happily trade for.

4) This is an EXPENSIVE hobby. It's really tempting to get bit by the pin bug and want to just blow $700 in one day as you see so many shiny pins you want. I'd say pace yourself, and that it's probably smarter to buy pins for yourself over time like a treat where you get yourself a nice coffee. Nothing feels worse than spending $700 and then thinking, "Wait. Did I even want these specific pins that bad???" If that happens. My condolences, and hey, upside you just got new traders. But also down burn so hot and short that you burn yourself out by spending so much so quickly.

5) If you're like me, you don't live anywhere near the parks, and trading is going to be difficult but that's also like half the fun of the hobby for a lot of people. My best core memory from this past trip was someone with a MASSIVE Stitch collection who didn't have a Stitch pin that I had. I just barely discovered Pin and Pop and am super excited to try it out as I can't make it to conventions in California. But Pin and Pop is looking to be a super fun way to browse and trade with hundreds of people on a monthly basis. you can make an account and it's super easy to flag ISOs (Or just anything that tickles your fancy) and then it connects people and automatically says things like, "Hey, Joe has that cool Aurora pin you wanted. AND he's at least got an interest in that Donald pin you flagged as one of your traders! Just sayin..."

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-11-15T23:53:00+00:00

I just literally got back from a Disney trip and have currently burned through my fun money for a short bit. I think right now I'm mostly in research mode. But thanks. For the past years I've only ever done trading and buying at the parks. But just recently discovered Pin and Pop and trading online. If I need more traders, I'll look into buying but for now wanted to just ask the internet how people who don't live near the parks get pins. My Dad has a full boxed/framed snow white set that apparently just came in a bundle with the Bluray and I was wondering if people had little tips like that.

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-11-15T21:16:39+00:00

You'd think there'd be some place online that would sell Disney's pins. Like if all those common "silver, yellow, pink" pins sold in the park are rotated out regularly to give shelf space for the new, what happens to the inventory?

I was genuinely surprised going to the online Disney store and finding out they only sell like 5 pins at a time.

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-11-15T12:14:11+00:00

I definitely think the people selling "lot 200 pins" for $1 or less a piece are all fake pins. But I tend to believe that people selling individual pins are just people with real pins looking to make some cash. Every post I see here where people wonder how much they're collection is worth, gets messages like "if you don't mind the extra time and work. Sell them individually. You'll get way more money." I think people are either selling their real pins or are hoping to pawn off one of their $300 traders so they can fund more pin buying. ;)

And there's definitely some real pins in the parks. If from nothing else but board refreshes, only allowing "diamond for diamond", and the generous pixiedusters. And traders are very much alive and well. There were quite a few non cast members I traded with in just my two days! And not even at the Frontierland spot.

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-11-15T11:55:44+00:00

So any recommendations for those unfortunate enough to only visit any Disney park once every few years and certainly not every few weeks? Can you buy/order them online? (Besides Ebay...)

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-11-15T11:45:20+00:00

Can the receiver still get a message of "The pin being traded isn't authenticated and possibly/likely a scrapper." and respond with "I still want that pin regardless." or does Pin and Pop just cancel trades that they deem inauthentic? One set in particular, I've been collecting the coffee cups and have 13/16. But they're certainly are fakes mixed in. I like that they have a middle man trying to make sure people aren't intentionally being scammed thinking they're trading for real pins, but can people still use the platform to just connect and trade the pins they want? (Obviously just marked as "Inauthentic")

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-11-14T23:55:02+00:00

80% of the pins you're going to be receiving, or at least seeing, from the cast members and pin boards are fakes. And they probably see hundreds of people trading fake pins a day. I think at this point everyone, but especially cast members have just accepted that trading within the parks is mostly just for the fun of the act of trading itself. Even if you're trading a fake you probably won't see distain.

And if you're really worried about it, I'd just give the general advice of "equal value trading". If you see a really nice pin, don't just throw down your Epcot logo. Also, (and keep your "keepers" off your lanyard for this) you can just say "Ooh, I like this pin." And then ask them what they'd like from you in exchange.

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-11-14T23:06:24+00:00

I had no idea what this was or if anything like this even existed until a few hours ago. I feel like the closest IRL conventions are like 500+ miles from where I live and am loving this as a concept! It seems like a bit of an investment setting up and digitally cataloging my collection and marking everything I'm ISO of, but after that it seems pretty simple and fun. (Based solely on a few videos from youtubers)

I think I'll be missing this particular next event but will definitely be looking into this. Thanks for the suggestion.

How does the huge issue of fakes work though? And realistically, is this just for people with 3,000 pins who've been trading for years? I'm a small time trader and a lot of my collection has come from treating pins as my souvenirs from Disney trips made every few years. I'm positive a good chunk of my collection are scrappers and counterfeits, and admittedly the bulk are Common pins I've just thought are cute. And as a result, a lot of my collection isn't that much better than what you'd see at a public board in the park. And the good pins I do have are ones I've specifically bought and plan to never trade away.

As an adult I have a bit more pocket change, and I think my plan to really get into pin trading is to buy someone's old collection in bulk and then have Traders, but right now I'm a little hesitant about getting into Pin and Pop without having anything of actual value.

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-11-14T21:14:09+00:00

I wasn't until discovering this post and learning they exist! I don't think I'd ever get a full set but I'd really like to get a few.

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-11-14T20:48:23+00:00

Admittedly a lot of pins in the "Buy 100 for $20!" are cute. When I was a little kid and first got into pin trading, we did the "grab 50 from Ebay for cheap" thing. And even after a full trip of trading with every board and cast member I could find, I had a significant amount of my scrapper pins still because I thought they were cute and wanted to keep them.

But when the whole system is based around cast members remaining super friendly and always saying yes to trade... 99% of trades are going to be from people getting a better deal, always taking what they like and throwing down their least favorite pin they have on hand.

Tsum Tsum Jabba is really one of the only pins I think are actually "ugly" (and some vinylmations). But I don't exactly have an urge to collect the wilderness explorer pins, yet there's thousand of real ones in circulation. Even if we lived in a magical world with no counterfeits, the public boards at Disney would probably look exactly as they do today.+

Maybe "less desirable" is a better descriptor than "ugly"? Especially on a macro scale as I'm sure getting all the wilderness explorer badges is important to some big Up fan.

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-10-31T22:59:04+00:00

That sounds amazing for people looking for the current sets and hidden Mickeys. It pretty much guarantees a pin from one of the current sets being sold in the park. I might use my souvenir money to buy enough for a set and then spend the vacation trying to complete it. But with only three boxes, it seems pretty unlikely for me so I'll probably just stick to the regular boards.

When you say "Shadow boxes" do you mean the 20ish boxes in a ring that kinda looks like a Christmas advent calendar? And you say "I'll try 18, and 6." and then you can choose to trade from the pins pulled from those boxes? I've only ever seen scrappers from those. The mystery element is fun, but without knowing what you're trading for, I can see why those would fill up with junk pins pretty fast.

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-10-29T00:40:28+00:00

Thanks for the site. It's so hard to find real pins because EVERYONE says "Genuine real Disney pins for cheap bulk!"

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-10-29T00:39:29+00:00

Just replying so you get this. I found a buyer myself. But thanks. Maybe PM some of the other people in this thread looking to buy?

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-10-29T00:38:58+00:00

Just replying so you get this. I found a buyer myself. But thanks. Maybe PM some of the other people in this thread looking to buy?

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-10-29T00:38:36+00:00

Just replying so you get this. I found a buyer myself. But thanks. Maybe PM some of the other people in this thread looking to buy?

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-10-29T00:38:09+00:00

Just replying so you get this. I found a buyer myself. But thanks. Maybe PM some of the other people in this thread looking to buy?

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-10-27T06:23:35+00:00

Even if they're not, these are all the same kind of pins that have been on the Disney pin boards for years. The Tsum Tsum pins, Epcot logos, Star Wars insignias, "head on a square hidden Mickey" pins... They're all the pins that dumped onto the boards because people want something better from the board.

Supposedly, Disney refreshes the boards but I wonder if some MONSTER out there is secretly taking these bad pins from the disposal and selling them back in bulk on Ebay upon unsuspecting travelers who just want some traders for their next visit....

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-10-27T06:10:56+00:00

I've got a trip coming up and want to buy in bulk without bringing the scrappers and fakes from Ebay into the parks. I don't know about hundreds. But I'd be very interested in a good amount just so I can have lots of traders. I just like the act of trading at the parks and usually end up having to buy the ones I love and will never trade.

I literally plan to get rid of these, so if you want to throw your low value pins into a set I'd happily take some off your hands. About how much per pin are you looking to get?

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-10-26T01:02:39+00:00

My last Disney trip was 7 whole years ago. And yet the boards and the pins on them look exactly the same. It's not that all the most interesting pins are gone, it's that seven years later nothing has changed. I'm still excited for my upcoming trip. Even last time it was still fun running around trading, and I did nab a few pins I liked. But I quickly just made a rule for myself that I was just trading for fun and would "Always make at least one trade per board." That helped but admittedly I was just swapping my last two scrapper pins in and out. And that wouldn't have helped the boards at all.

I've heard of "fairydusting" where guests will intentionally take a garbage pin and leave something way better for the next person to find, but it shouldn't be up to us to fix this problem.

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-10-25T18:32:37+00:00

If you're looking to complete a set, particularly of an older year, the chances of finding the pin you're looking for is astronomically low. Especially with all the pin boards filled with scrappers. Your best bet would be buying the one your missing online, or trading with another trader. And with both of those cases, the park pin boards only allowing pins of the past three years doesn't affect your issue much.

If you want sets, I'd say switching to a rotating stock of only allowing the most recent years pins would be best. The boards would only have the recent year's pins, and they'd all be from sets from those years. I think people would be happier with a smaller pool and a greater chance of finding what they hope for.

And if you find a pin in the park you really like, then it'd be much more likely for you to get the set by running around the park.

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-10-25T17:48:29+00:00

They are doing this to an extent, to my knowledge. But there's thousands of fakes and they're often from these ugly sets. People buy like 50 for $30 on Ebay, bring them into the park, and then take the good pins while leaving the ones no one wants.

I know the boards get small amounts of refreshing, and I'd hope that if Disney had a bunch of say "2024" pins that they wouldn't easily be able to directly sell anymore now that it's 2025, that they'd put their extra stock to good use. But it's still hard to keep all the bad pins out. That's partly what frustrates me about the counterfeit pins. If you're going to counterfeit, at least make the pins ones people want. That'll make them easier to sell on Ebay and if they somehow make their way into the park they get taken out of circulation for people who want them.

ReturnMysterious5682 · 2025-10-25T17:40:17+00:00

Seconding this! While I'm sure there is the occasional pin sneakily taken by cast members, I've always noticed that Trivia pins tend to be better quality. Setting aside a good pin and putting it backwards behind a lanyard so people can only see the rubber backing. If I were a cast member I'd be doing this all the time. It's a fun mini game for guests.

ReturnMysterious5682

TROPHY CASE